Illegal labor pool and its impact on unemployment rates

An immigration reform think tank has published a new study that
shows the labor pool of illegal immigrants continues to have a
negative impact on U.S. unemployment.

The Center for Immigration Studies says its study has revealed that 79 percent of illegal
aliens have no more than a high school education and are in direct
competition with less-educated American citizens for employment
opportunities.

CIS executive director Mark Krikorian contends there is no
shortage of such American-born workers able to do the kind of work
done by those who are in the country illegally.

Krikorian

"When you look at the unemployment numbers for native-born
Americans who don't have a high school diploma, they're huge," he
emphasizes. "So the idea that there's no people to do the kind of
relatively less-skilled jobs that illegal immigrants do is just
complete baloney."

Krikorian says while admittedly there are some Americans who are
unwilling to work, that does not mean the solution is to hire
illegal immigrants.

"By not having to address the kind of work-ethic problems that
do exist in some parts of our society, all it's doing is making it
worse and kicking the can down the road," he remarks. "Immigration
enables a short-term fix for, say, the owners of a restaurant who
want reliable dishwashers, [but it] creates long-term problems in
the future."

Krikorian admits that with the current political makeup in
Washington, it is unlikely that a legislative remedy for the large
immigration numbers will be possible anytime soon.

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